Intermittent fasting — which alternates fasting periods with an eating window — is a wonderfully flexible principle that you can customize for your needs, wants, and lifestyle. But if you're interested in intermittent fasting, you've probably felt like there are so many options that it's hard to decide which schedule to choose.

Look around, and you'll notice immediately that people are different. Humans vary widely in their shapes and sizes, from the barely-five-foot-tall populations in Indonesia and Bolivia to the easily-six-foot-tall folks of places like the Netherlands and Montenegro. Watch the Olympics, and you'll see diverse body types excelling at different sports: tiny bodies flying through the air in gymnastics, long bodies slicing through the water in swimming, and thick bodies hurling heavy objects through the air.

Cholesterol is a substance that our body makes naturally. We need some of it for good health and function. But when it gets out of whack, it puts us at risk of health problems. Almost 2 in 5 adults in the United States have high cholesterol, and high cholesterol doesn't have any symptoms.

You made it through your fasting window — congratulations! Whether time flew or you had to grit your teeth through a few hunger pains, you crossed the finish line. … Now what? Is any food fair game, or do you need to ease your body back into eating?

We've all been there: that day when you put on your pants and … ouch. The waistband is scrunching your stomach. The elastic isn't elastic-ing quite enough. Or the belt holes seem to have suddenly shifted in the wrong direction. Whatever the reason, you might have had at least one encounter with clothing waistbands that made you think: could I change my belly shape and size?

Possibly the only thing worse than getting that urge — the one that has you clutching at your stomach and running for the bathroom at an inopportune time — is when that urge hasn't come knocking for days, and you feel like your gut is a tight, uncomfortable coil that won't unwind. Since modifications to what and when you eat can affect your bowel movements, it's natural to be nervous that a new eating routine could also mean a new bathroom routine.

If you're feeling anxious about staying on track with all that extra-delicious holiday food around, you're not alone. Navigating food challenges (oh haiiii, social eating and food guilt!) during the holiday season can be tough. The good news is you don't need to eat like the holidays don't exist.

Somewhere along the way, carbohydrates (think bread, pasta, potatoes, and rice) became the villains of the nutrition world. We don't see them that way at Simple, however. The truth is that our bodies need carbohydrates — it's the best energy source we've got. Where we can get into difficulties is when we eat too many carbohydrates and simple sugars (like honey and sweets); don't eat enough protein (such as chicken, fish, or tofu), healthy fats (like avocado or olive oil), or fruits and vegetables; and don't move our bodies enough during our daily lives.

After a hectic afternoon of meetings, you finally have time to breathe and grab a convenient, no-brainer snack. Do you reach for chips and cookies? Fair enough — they're so convenient! But there's another option that won't lead to a sugar crash: bananas.

Whether you're a carnivore, herbivore, or somewhere in between, you can easily incorporate intermittent fasting into your daily routine. Intermittent fasting doesn't require any special type of diet, which means that you have lots of options, for instance, if you're someone who prefers a plant-based or vegan diet.